Despite the cool and dry conditions experienced so far, the majority of crops are in good to excellent condition, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Weekly Crop Report.

Sixty-five per cent of winter wheat, 54 per cent of fall rye, 70 per cent of spring wheat, 49 per cent of durum, 68 per cent of oats, 64 per cent of barley, 60 per cent of canola, 50 per cent of flax, 63 per cent of lentils, 61 per cent of soybeans, 65 per cent of peas, 34 per cent of chickpeas and 26 per cent of mustard are in good to excellent condition.  Approximately 87 per cent of fall cereals, 62 per cent of spring cereals, 55 per cent of oilseed crops and 67 per cent of pulses are at or ahead of their normal stage of development for this time of year.

"Of course, it really depends on where you are in the province, as we do have some crops out there that are in less than ideal condition as well. Most of those tend to be in the south part of the province where we have had lack of moisture for several weeks now, and things have been drying up rather quickly," said Shannon Friesen, a Cropping Management Specialist with Agriculture Saskatchewan."

"Overall, things are still in good condition. We have areas of the province that are in fantastic shape, and others that are struggling a little bit more."

Precipitation across the province varied widely last week, ranging from negligible amounts to 57 mm in the Nipawin area.  Provincially, topsoil moisture on cropland is rated as six per cent surplus, 61 per cent adequate, 28 per cent short and five per cent very short.  Topsoil moisture on hay land and pasture is rated as five per cent surplus, 53 per cent adequate, 32 per cent short and 10 per cent very short.  Many areas, particularly in the south, are in need of rain to help crops, hay and pasture grow.

There were reports of frost in some areas of the south, and producers are assessing the damage.

"Mostly around Coronach, Rockglen, Val Marie, Northeast of Weyburn and Gravelbourg, the temperatures dipped down anywhere from about zero to even minus four in some cases," Friesen noted, adding that the flowering pulse crops and some of the oilseeds suffered the most.

"Luckily, we've heard that many of those plants are actually growing through the damage, so hopefully that continues. We're typically not used to seeing frost this late in the season, so there's really not much we can do, unfortunately."

Haying is underway.  Four per cent of the hay crop is cut and two per cent is baled or ensiled.  Haying is furthest advanced in the southwest where 11 per cent of the crop has been cut.  Hay quality is rated as six per cent excellent, 50 per cent good, 34 per cent fair and 10 per cent poor.  Quality is lowest in the southeast where 21 per cent of the hay is rated as poor, thanks to less-than-ideal growing conditions during most of the spring.

"In the southeast region, we have three percent cut, and two percent baled or put into silage. Many producers there are expecting lower yields than normal. Many of the hay crops have prematurely headed out, they're very short, thin and stunted. The lack of moisture has really taken a toll."

Crop damage this week has been attributed to flooding, frost, wind and insects such as cutworms and alfalfa weevils.  There are also reports of gopher damage to crops.  Producers have nearly finished herbicide applications, but progress has been slowed by windy conditions.

"We've had more reports than normal of gopher damage this year. Most of that is coming from the dryer areas of the province," Friesen observed.

She also mentioned that the consistently strong winds has quickly dried up the topsoil, as well as damaged plants.

Producers are scouting for disease, applying fungicides and cutting hay.

SaskPower has received 29 reports of farm equipment coming in contact with power lines so far in June.  There have been 168 incidents in 2017.

"Ideally, the areas that need it will get a nice slow rain, and for those that don't need it, hopefully some heat is on the way for them," concluded Friesen.